Networks have come into wide use in recent years and computers can be connected to a plurality of peripheral devices (for example, the projector) in a workplace. When such a computer is connected to a plurality of peripheral devices using the same application, the computer generally display icons which represent each of the peripheral devices and which prompt the user to select a peripheral device as the data destination. The user selects an icon causing the computer to transmit data to the peripheral device corresponding to the selected icon.
When an icon is displayed on a computer as a means of allowing a user to select a peripheral device as the destination of data, in general, information that indicates a positional relationship between the computer and each peripheral device is not displayed. For this reason, if the user does not ascertain in advance where a peripheral device is placed, the user may select a peripheral device placed far from his position (where the computer is located) as the destination of data. There has been proposed a system for solving such a problem, disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-131784 (hereinafter, referred to as Patent Document 1).
The system described in Patent Document 1 includes a personal computer and a plurality of peripheral devices, and the personal computer and the plurality of peripheral devices are communicatively connected to one another through a network.
The system described in Patent Document 1 has been designed based on the assumption that a plurality of peripheral devices that are the same and different in application (services to be provided) are installed in places where a building and a floor are different.
Each peripheral device is supposed to store attribute information indicating its name, application, and position information (a building name and a floor name where it is installed). When the user inputs the application of a peripheral device to a personal computer and performs an operation causing the computer to search for the appropriate peripheral device, the personal computer makes a request to all the peripheral devices connected thereto through a network to provide attribute information. Next, the personal computer creates an attribute list indicating all pieces of attribute information received until a predetermined time has elapsed. Then, the personal computer searches for a peripheral device that corresponds to the application that the user inputs from the attribute list.
When the personal computer finds locates the peripheral device that corresponds to the application, the personal computer compares the position information of the peripheral device that corresponds to the application with that of the personal computer. The personal computer displays the peripheral device with icons that are different in size according to the comparison results. In the system described in Patent Document 1, the size of the icon displayed by the personal computer is largest when the building name and the floor name indicated in the position information between the personal computer and the peripheral device agree with each other. The icon becomes smaller in size than the above icon when the building name is the same but the floor name is different. The icon is the smallest in size when both the building name and the floor name are different.
In the system described in Patent Document 1, there is also proposed a case where latitude and longitude are used as position information. In this case, the position information of each peripheral device indicates latitude and longitude of a place where it is installed. The personal computer has a global positioning system (GPS) function for acquiring information indicating latitude and longitude of the present position.
When latitude and longitude are used as position information, the personal computer acquires the position information thereof using the GPS function to calculate distance between the personal computer and a peripheral device. The personal computer displays the peripheral device using icons that are different in size according to the calculated distance.
According to the system described in Patent Document 1, the personal computer displays icons indicating peripheral devices connected to the personal computer through a network such that the size of the icons varies according to the distance between a peripheral device and the personal computer. For this reason, when a plurality of peripheral devices with the same application are connected to the personal computer through a network, the user of the personal computer can distinguish peripheral devices that are installed close to the user.